The Department of Communities, Child Protection and Family Support has awarded a $20 million contract to a consortium of four Noongar Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to provide Aboriginal In-Home Support Services.

The service will offer intensive in-home practical support to Aboriginal families throughout the metropolitan area over a three and a half year period to help strengthen relationships, keep families together and divert children away from the care system.

The consortium of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations has a long history of demonstrated success in delivering culturally appropriate services to the Aboriginal community of Perth.

Consortium members are:

Wungening Aboriginal Corporation (Wungening) as the lead agency – alcohol and other drug expertise, family and domestic violence expertise, youth and adult justice experience;

Wungening's Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Morrison spoke of the importance of working together, asserting that all consortium members fully appreciated the significance of the Aboriginal In-Home Support Service:

"Too many of our Aboriginal children are entering the out-of-home care system - we have to work together, and work better with our families, to turn this around."

Hon Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Child Protection, also highlighted the need to engage with culturally-relevant agencies to divert Aboriginal children and families from the care system.

"Wungening Aboriginal Corporation has a wealth of experience responding specifically to the needs of the local Aboriginal community - I applaud them for their work. They are well-placed to take on this challenge."

"This model is designed to drive significant change in vulnerable families and, if we are able to achieve that, in turn we would reduce the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care."